Folklore at UL

The Folklore concentration invites you to explore culture with us! In the video below, Dr. Clai Rice discusses the importance of considering faculty expertise when selecting a graduate program. Our department has multiple faculty members who are folklorists, all specializing in different areas. To learn more about them, visit their faculty profile pages: Dr. Shelley Ingram, Dr. John Laudun, and Dr. Clai Rice.

Folklore is an integral component of the study of language, literature and culture associated with both English and Francophone Studies. The Folklore concentration for the M.A. in English allows you to gain professional training in folklore for further graduate work, as well as careers in teaching, research, and public-sector work.

The M.A. in English is unique in that it is a generalist program. That means you as students gain gain a strong foundation in folklore and literature, as well as a strong teaching, or pedagogical foundation by instructing composition courses and working in the University’s Writing Center.

The generalist program ensures graduates who opt for academic positions are qualified to teach in several areas. Graduates who choose careers outside of the academy are prepared through experiencing managing a classroom, working one-on-one with undergraduate students, editing, writing, and communicating ideas to a variety of audiences. We also offer a professional development series meant for new graduate students as well as a job market workshop series.

We are encourage you to become familiar with the Folklore Archives, the Center for Louisiana studies, and the Louisiana Room collections at the Dupré Library, which provide rich sources for research for your studies.

Our students participate in the Festivals Acadiens, the Deep South in the Global South Graduate Conference, and have an active Student Folklore Organization as well as a Folklore & Coffee events each semester.

Louisiana as “Folklore Land”

Someone once called Louisiana a “folklore land” and we do live in a state, and in a region of the state, where folklore not only abides happily but is the subject of a great deal of attention by scholars and citizens, tourists and natives. Field research opportunities are plentiful and often our students have found themselves working closely with the Louisiana Folklife Program or with more localized groups, such as museums, churches, and other community organizations, interested in preserving and/or presenting facets of the local culture.